John Wood looks to US shale industry boom to help growth August 19, 2014 BRITISH energy services firm John Wood Group said yesterday that it was banking on the US shale industry to drive growth, after its production services business helped offset weakness in other divisions in the first half of the year. First half earnings were virtually flat at $243.9m (£147m), but the company said it expected a [...]
Best of the Brokers for 20 August 2014 August 19, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WPP Westhouse Securities has maintained a “buy” rating on WPP ahead of its interim results on 26 August, with a target price of 1,577p. The broker expects WPP to stay on track with its full year target of three per cent revenue growth [...]
London Report: FTSE climbs after Persimmon delivers a set of good results August 19, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index yesterday climbed to its highest closing level in three weeks, bolstered by housebuilding stocks after robust results from Persimmon. The UK blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended up 38.06 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,779.31 points. Persimmon delivered a 57 per cent rise in pretax profit and said it was trading [...]
New York Report: Housing data lifts Wall St August 19, 2014 WALL Street yesterday was lifted by the US housing sector and strong earnings from Home Depot overshadowed lingering concerns about the conflict in Ukraine.. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.85 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 16,919.59, the S&P 500 gained 9.86 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 1,981.6 and the Nasdaq Composite added [...]
Paul Aitken: Three things you didn’t know about the Borro founder August 19, 2014 1 As a child ,he spent many a Saturday at Sir Richard Branson’s house playing snooker. The entrepreneur had invested in a synthesised guitar his father invented called a SynthAxe and the pair would have weekend meetings. 2 He took part in the Dallaglio foundation cycle slam, which involved cycling through the alps with 18,000 [...]
German ban on Uber car hire overturned August 18, 2014 Germany’s administrative court yesterday overturned a ban on taxi and mini-cab hire app Uber. The ban was imposed by the Berlin State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs, which claimed the app could endanger customers as it allowed unverified drivers to pick up customers. Uber argued it provided competition which drove up standards.
First day for Luke Savage at Standard Life August 18, 2014 LUKE Savage will be putting his briefcase down at a new desk today, as he begins his role as finance director at Standard Life. Savage replaces Jackie Hunt, who moved to rival Prudential over a year ago, and joins the FTSE 100 company from Lloyd’s of London where he was director of finance and operations [...]
Kennedy Wilson buys Fairmont St Andrews August 18, 2014 Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate, the US-managed property fund that raised £1bn through a London float earlier this year, has snapped up a luxury 520-acre golf resort in St Andrews, Scotland for £32.4m. Kennedy Wilson confirmed yesterday that it had bought the Fairmont St Andrews hotel, previously owned by private equity firm Ares Management.
Best of the Brokers for 19 August 2014 August 18, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ARM HOLDINGS Goldman Sachs has added ARM to its “conviction buy” list, with a target price of 1,400p. The broker thinks first half weakness is temporary rather than structural, and anticipates a better second half, with high end smartphone launches incorporating ARM designs [...]
London Report: FTSE rises as Ukraine-Russia fears subside August 18, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday climbed on the back of investor relief that a feared escalation in the Ukraine crisis had failed to materialise. Tensions spiked on Friday when Ukraine said it had partially destroyed an armoured column that had crossed the border from Russia, triggering a sell-off in global shares. But Moscow made no threat [...]
